


The Ecstatic Tribe

by PattRose



Category: The Sentinel
Genre: Family talk, Friendship, M/M, Mild Language, Surrogacy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-10
Updated: 2016-09-10
Packaged: 2018-08-14 08:02:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8004967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PattRose/pseuds/PattRose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Carolyn knows that Jim and Blair are a couple, but there is something she wants from Jim.  Is it more than friendship?  Or does she just miss Jim?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Ecstatic Tribe

The Ecstatic Tribe  
By PattRose  
Summary: Carolyn knows that Jim and Blair are a couple, but there is something she wants from Jim. Is it more than friendship?   
Warnings: Language, surrogacy, Kid Fic  
Rating: Gen  
Genre: Slash  
Word Count: 7226  
A/N: I just got done watching Rogue again and I had forgotten that Carolyn seemed like she liked Jim at the end of it. She seemed almost sweet and understanding. I found myself liking her, so I decided to write a story with Carolyn in it that wasn’t mean or evil Carolyn. She’s just Jim’s ex-wife and wishes she could be friends with her ex-husband again.

[ ](http://s71.photobucket.com/user/PattRose1/media/tribe3_zpsrtklbpxp.jpg.html)

Carolyn Plummer had been living in San Francisco for about 18 months and realized that she missed something or someone more than she expected. And that was her ex-husband Jim Ellison. They had remained friends through the divorce, the move and everything else, but she hoped they could have something more. She wanted to be a part of Jim and Blair’s life.

Jim and Blair had become a couple not long after she had moved. Jim had flown up to San Francisco to tell Carolyn in person. He didn’t want her getting the news through the grapevine. Jim had been the excellent person that she knew and loved at one time and came forward to let her know so she wouldn’t be hurt. This made her miss him all the more. 

Carolyn got up that morning with one thought on her mind. She was going to go to Cascade and see if she could find a job. That way she would be close to both of them and hopefully they could consider her a friend. Carolyn got her ticket bought, her hotel in Cascade arranged and off she went.

*

The phone rang at the loft and Blair answered it. “Sandburg and Ellison residence…”

“Hi Blair, this is Carolyn Plummer. Is Jim there?”

First thing Blair noticed was that she called him Jim instead of Jimmy. For some reason this alarmed him. Next thing is that she was too damn perky sounding. 

“Hello, Carolyn. How are you doing?”

“I’m doing just fine, thank you. How are you?”

_She’s being too fucking nice._ “I’m fine thank you. Jim isn’t home from work yet, could I take a message?”

“Yes, please. Could you have him call me at Cascade Towers, room 620? I’d like to treat you both to dinner tonight if you don’t have plans.”

“That sounds nice, Carolyn. I’ll give him the message.” Blair hung up the phone and began to pace. 

_She was too fucking nice and happy. Something has to be up. She must be up to no good._

Jim walked in the door at that moment and Blair looked guilty. Jim looked at Blair strangely and asked, “What’s wrong?”

“Carolyn called. She’s in room 620 at Cascade Towers. She wants you to call her.”

Jim walked over to Blair and pulled him in for a much needed kiss. For Blair’s sake more than Jim’s. Jim could sense the tension and insecurity in the room when he entered. 

“I love you, Chief. She’s probably in town and wants to have dinner with us.”

“She wants to have dinner with us, but I had a feeling she wanted something more,” Blair pointed out. 

“Don’t worry so much, Blair. She is my ex-wife, but I’m still friends with her. You’ll be with me, so there is nothing to worry about,” Jim sounded almost irritated. 

“See, now you’re mad at me. I knew this was going to happen. Call her back and tell her you would be glad to have dinner with her tonight,” Blair suggested. 

“I sort of had other plans for tonight, Blair.” Jim moved his eyebrows up and down, evilly. 

“Call her first and at least set up for tomorrow. I promised her I would tell you when you got home. Okay?”

“Fine… Geeze, why don’t you just take her out? I haven’t seen you in four days and you’re trying to get rid of me.”

Blair moved into Jim’s space again and hugged him close to his body. Jim could feel Blair’s cock swelling in his jeans and smiled. 

“Okay… I’ll tell her we’ll have dinner with her tomorrow night, Chief.”

“Okay, that sounds good. I’ll get dinner heated up, it’s all done,” Blair said, happily. He was so happy to have Jim not angry with him that he was practically floating on air. 

Jim called Cascade Towers and asked for room 620. He heard it ringing and then heard a voice who he realized he had missed hearing. 

“Jim?”

“Hi, Carolyn. I just got home and Blair said you called. What’s up?”

“I was wondering if I could bring dinner over tonight and discuss something with the two of you,” Carolyn quickly said. 

“Tomorrow night would work much better. I haven’t been home in four days and I’m exhausted. I’m off tomorrow and so is Blair. Is everything all right with you?”

“Jim, you are so nice in asking about me, but I’m fine. I just have something to discuss with the two of you. What time tomorrow night and what should I bring?” Carolyn asked. 

“I’ll make chicken and dumplings, Carolyn. I remember that you loved them. So come about 6:00 or so. No need to bring anything, unless you want to bring wine. Is that good for you?” 

“It’s perfect, Jim. See you both tomorrow night.”

Jim hung the phone up and smiled at Blair. “All that worrying was for nothing, Blair. She wants to talk to both of us.”

“Dinner’s on. About what? Did she say?” Blair asked. 

“Dinner looks great, Chief and no she didn’t say what it was about. I asked if she was all right and she said she was fine. So I have no idea what she wants to talk to us about.”

“Man, I do. Her biological clock must be ticking and she wants to have you impregnate her,” Blair guessed. 

“What a terrible thing to think about, Blair. I’m not going to try and guess, unlike you. Let’s just have dinner and then I can relax and watch the news.”

“I’m sorry, Jim. I don’t mean to irritate you on purpose. It takes years of practice.”

Jim threw back his head and laughed, making Blair feel 100% better about things. 

They talked about Jim’s case from the last four days, did the dishes and then sat down in front of the television for the evening. 

Jim didn’t even make it through ten minutes of the news and fell asleep. Blair looked over at his lover and knew that things would change tomorrow. Blair knew what Carolyn wanted. Blair would want the same fucking thing. It’s not like he could blame Carolyn for wanting to have Jim’s child. But Blair wasn’t bringing it up any more. He was determined on making this evening nice for Jim. 

Blair moved over in between Jim’s legs and unzipped Jim’s jeans. Jim opened his eyes and asked, “How upset would you be if I asked for a raincheck?”

“Seriously? You said you wanted to earlier. I’m a little surprised.”

“I’m exhausted, Chief. I’m so fucking glad to have this case over with. Four days away from you is too much, believe me.”

Blair moved up and began to kiss Jim in thanks and Jim was getting into the program. Before long they went upstairs and Jim forgot all about being tired. 

They lay in bed that night with Jim sleeping soundly and Blair’s mind going crazy. Would Jim be tempted to do it? After all, he had told Blair one time that he still loved Carolyn, just not in that same way. But they were very good friends. Friends do stuff like lending sperm to the other one. On one hand Blair was jealous of the idea and on the other hand, he was hoping Jim would consider it. Blair loved children and so did Jim. They would make excellent parents. Blair moved over to the edge of the bed and wished he had his lover to talk to. 

“Blair, you’re pulling away from me. Are you really worried about her asking me to father a child?”

Blair almost jumped out of the bed. “Jesus, warn a guy next time. You just scared the shit out of me.”

“Well that makes us even then. Your heartbeat is just racing. There was no way I would sleep through that.”

Blair moved into Jim’s arms and asked, “So what do you think about the idea?”

“Honestly, Blair, I love children, so that part wouldn’t bother me, but I think there would always be something missing with you and me. I truly believe that you would be jealous and hurt. So no, I wouldn’t do this for Carolyn no matter what. Does that make you feel better?”

Blair hugged Jim tightly. “Jim, I think I’ll be able to sleep now.”

“Good, except this time, you’re staying in my arms all night long.”

“I love you, Jim.”

“And I love you, Blair.”

*

The following evening, Jim was just finishing up cooking their dinner when he smelled Carolyn’s perfume through the door.

“What are you smiling at, Jim?”

Jim continued to smile and answered, “Carolyn is pacing in front of our door. Why don’t you let her in?”

Blair went to the door and opened it and shocked Carolyn. “Hi, Carolyn. It’s very good to see you. You look beautiful tonight. Come on in.”

“Thank you, Blair,” she answered. 

She walked through the front door and saw Jim and almost melted when he smiled at her. 

“Is that my boyfriend flirting with you? And he’s right, you do look beautiful. Let Blair take your coat and your purse and sit down. I’m getting things put on the table right now,” Jim said. 

Carolyn couldn’t believe how well the evening was going so far. She took her jacket off and handed it and her purse to Blair. He hung them on the hooks by the front door and said, “Sit down at the table. I think dinner is on.”

Jim served the chicken and dumplings along with vegetables and he and Blair talked about things going on in Cascade. Before long, Jim could see Carolyn was nervous, wasn’t eating and Jim knew he had to put her out of her misery. 

“Jim and Blair, I wanted you to know that I had lunch with Simon today about transferring back to Cascade. There is an opening and he wants me to take it, but I needed to talk to you first. Blair, how do you feel about having the ex-wife living in the same town?”

“Actually, I think it would be nice. Jim speaks of you often and I know he misses you.”

Carolyn smiled. “And what about you, Jim? How do you feel about having your ex in the same town again? I do expect to be counted among your friends, so think about that too.”

“Carolyn, we thought you here to ask for me to father a child with you.”

Carolyn dropped her fork onto her plate and splattered her dinner all over her dress. “I honestly don’t feel the need to have children. I’ve never cared about having one myself.” She dabbed her dress with a napkin. 

Blair jumped up to get a wet cloth and socked Jim on the shoulder on the way. 

“Jim, why would you think that?” Carolyn asked. 

“Because you’re nervous and you’re not eating any of your favorite dish. I have many reasons, but the main one is I want to have a child with Blair, so I wouldn’t even consider it.” 

Carolyn took the wet cloth from Blair and wiped down her dress. “I’m glad we’re talking this out. Do both of you think we could become friends if I moved here? And Blair are you comfortable with me being around Jim at work?” 

Blair said, “I can handle it, Carolyn. I know how much Jim loves you and loved you. At first it bothered me, but not now. We would love to see you move back. You’ve got a lot of friends here already.”

“Chief, you are absolutely right. And Carolyn, I would love to call you my friend.”

“Jim, you mentioned that you wanted to have a baby with Blair. Is that true?”

“Yes, but I also know that finding a surrogate that wouldn’t take off with the child would be the hard part,” Jim answered. 

Blair said, “We haven’t even looked for one yet, because it’s probably a pipe dream.”

“I bet you could find one at the university, Blair,” Carolyn pointed out. “I know when I was going to college there was a girl in my dorm that did it.”

“We have a lot of talking to do first, Caro. But thank you for being so supportive of us,” Jim said, smiling. 

She smiled fondly at both men and said, “You know, I could be the surrogate mother. That way the baby would always be like my niece or nephew.”

“You would do that for us, Carolyn?” Jim added. 

“You two think about it and let me know. I think it could work,” Carolyn stated. 

Blair got up and hugged Carolyn on the way to the kitchen to get more wine. 

“Jim, this dinner is delicious. If you fed me like this much I would weigh a ton. Thankfully, I don’t live here. How do you both stay so slim?”

Blair was the first to answer. “He forces me to do pushups every night and in the morning I have to do pullups. He said he doesn’t want a fat boyfriend.”

“I did not. I just think that both of us should be in excellent shape in case we want to have a child someday. It’ll take all our energy to keep up with them,” Jim said, laughing. 

“Do you know of anyone that could be an egg donor?”

“I know of a couple of people that do it at the university. I could ask them how it works tomorrow.” Blair said.

“Think about it. I’m going to be in Cascade from now on. Sleep on it and let me know. We could use two eggs, one for you, Jim and one for Blair. You guys think about everything and let me know.”

“Carolyn, this is one of the nicest things I’ve ever had anyone offer to do for us. We will think on it.”

“Listen guys, I need to get to the hotel. Call me and we’ll have dinner in a few nights.”

“Thank you, Carolyn,” Blair said as he stood up and hugged her close. 

“Yeah, what he said,” Jim said, hugging her and then kissed her on the cheek.

After the door was shut, Jim just stared at Blair shocked. “I can’t believe she would do this for us.”

“Maybe she wants to feel what she might have missed from your marriage early on,” Blair said. 

“Maybe so, but still. She would put her life on hold for an entire nine months and she wouldn’t even get a child out of it.”

Blair looked over at Jim and asked, “Are you thinking about it?”

“Yes, I am. She would be a wonderful surrogate. She’s got a great temperament, she’s full of love and she wants to do it.”

“Jim, what if this all backfires on us?”

“I don’t believe things will go wrong. I would like to see if we can look into egg donors tomorrow after work. Do you know where to start to look?” Jim asked. 

“I happen to know two girls at the university that sell their eggs. I find it odd, but that’s what we need. We’ll need four.”

“Four?” Jim asked. 

Blair smiled at the dumbfounded look on Jim’s face. “They always say you should put two eggs for each fertilization process. That way we could have twins. We wouldn’t know until they were born if they were yours, mine or one of each.”

“Could you check into how much it costs tomorrow? And what do they look like, Chief?”

Both girls are beautiful. One is dark skinned, dark hair and blue eyes. The other is blond, light skinned and green eyes. They aren’t my students.”

“So it wouldn’t be unethical?” Jim asked. 

“I don’t think so. We would have to see when we find out more about it.”

“I know this sounds dumb, Chief, but I find myself very excited. I never dreamed we would find a surrogate that would work out. This might just work.”

“Thank goodness, Carolyn just happened into town and offered to do this for us.”

“You find out about the girls tomorrow at the university and I’ll tell Carolyn that we’re going to try it. Just because we all want it doesn’t mean it’ll take, right Chief?”

“Right. Sometimes it takes two or more tries. God, I’m so excited. I want the blond haired girl for me. The dark haired girl would be perfect for you. She’s not as tall as the blond. I want our babies to have a chance of being taller than me,” Blair said, laughing. 

“Let’s get the kitchen cleaned up and get to bed. Call me as soon as you find out anything tomorrow, okay?” Jim asked. 

“I sure will, Jim. We’re going to have to buy a house, man.”

“Yeah, we are going to have to. We’ll start looking after the process is over with. Okay, Chief?”

“Perfect…”

*

Jim was out on a case with Megan when Blair called him. “Hi, Chief. Any news?”

“They each are willing to sell us two eggs for the price of two thousand dollars for each girl. Since they knew me, they said I’m getting a deal. Usually it’s up to five thousand for each egg. We would get four for the price of four thousand. They already have the eggs waiting at the lab. Are you interested?”

“Hell yes. Let me call Carolyn and see what she says. You set it up with those girls. You have your checkbook, right? Write it out from our account,” Jim said. 

“The eggs are ready to be fertilized as soon as possible. Then once the doctor says Carolyn is okay, they can be inserted the following day.”

“Okay, let me call her, Chief.”

“We have to fertilize the eggs at the doctor’s office right now. If you catch my drift?” 

Jim blushed and said, “Okay, where do I meet you?” 

“It’s the girl’s doctor’s office and we have to pay them as soon as we’re done doing this. The doctor will then keep the eggs until they are ready to be inserted into Carolyn. Everything will be labeled and no screw ups ever. I checked into this doctor, and he seems reputable.”

“How long does it take to fertilize the eggs and get them inserted into Carolyn?” Jim asked, forgetting all about the fact that Megan was standing right next to him. 

“The doctor talked to me today and said he would like to have Carolyn come in today to be checked out. Then he could finish everything tomorrow, once the eggs are done.”

“Well, shit, I better call Carolyn and see what she thinks,” Jim said. 

“Pick her up and meet me there in about an hour.”

“Will do, Chief. Talk to you soon. I love you.”

He had no sooner hung up and Megan asked, “Holy shit, Carolyn is going to carry a baby for you and Blair?”

“Yeah, do you think you could keep this on the down-low?”

“You better call Carolyn if you need to pick her up,” Megan said, smiling. 

“Thanks, Megan. You’re the best.”

“I’ll take a cab back to the station. See you later. I’ll tell Simon you had something come up from the senses. That usually shuts Simon right up.”

Jim laughed and hugged Megan. “We’re so fucking excited, but nervous too.”

“Relax and wait until Carolyn is pregnant before you have a breakdown.” Megan grabbed a cab and took off. 

Jim called Carolyn on her cell phone. 

“Hello?”

“You’re never going to believe all of this, but…” Jim proceeded to tell her everything and she agreed to be downstairs when he pulled up in front. 

Once he picked her up, she and Jim talked all the way to the doctor’s office. Once there, the doctor examined Carolyn, did some tests and said she was ready to go in two days. Then they fertilized the eggs with Jim and Blair’s sperm and got them ready. Two days from now was going to be a big day.

*

Insertion Day: Two days after fertilization.

Carolyn met Jim and Blair at the doctor’s office and waited to see him. He called all of them into his office. 

“All four eggs are fertilized. So we’ll place all of them in you, Carolyn and we’ll see how many survive.”

“Jim and Blair, will you stay in with me while he inserts the eggs?”

The doctor looked at the two nervous men and said, “She’s going to have a gown on. You’ll be up next to her head, not the other end. It’s time to get her ready to go. Carolyn, you get dressed in the gown on the table and let us know when you’re ready.”

Jim and Blair waited in the doctor’s office until they heard Carolyn call for them. 

Doctor Spence was ready to go and got her in position and started inserting the eggs with a speculum as he inserted them into the entrance of her uterus. It was uncomfortable, but once it was all done, they all took a deep breath. 

“Carolyn, I need to see you in two weeks when we will run the first test to see if you’re pregnant.”

“That’s perfect. I don’t start my new job for a month, so I have plenty of time before I have to go back to work.”

Both men looked pleased. Blair was the first to think. “How would you like to stay at our place and once we find a house, the entire place will be yours for relaxing and just hanging out?”

“Thank you, Blair. I think I might like staying at the loft. Will you leave some furniture when you move?” Carolyn asked. 

“Yes, don’t worry about a thing, Carolyn.” 

Doctor Spence said, “Why don’t you gentlemen wait in the waiting room. Carolyn will be out, shortly.”

“Thank you for everything Doctor,” Jim said as he walked out of the room. 

“Doctor Spence, how many did you fertilize?” Blair asked, because he thought he was counting wrong. 

“I inserted all four. Rarely, do they all take. Sometimes only one does. We’ll see when she comes back in two weeks and we’ll hope for the best.”

Blair left so Carolyn could get dressed. Once he was out in the waiting room, he said, “He inserted four eggs.”

“I know, I could see them on the tray. They must have to try as many as they can,” Jim guessed. 

Blair smiled. “That’s what the doctor said.”

Carolyn came walking out and said, “I’m going to relax at the hotel tonight, but if it’s all right, I will move into your office at the loft tomorrow.”

Jim pulled his keyring out and handed her a spare key he had on it. “Make yourself at home, Carolyn. And don’t feel like you have to cook for us.”

“Not to worry. I never was that good at that, Jim.” She laughed all the way out of the office. 

Jim and Blair walked her to the truck and Blair told her to have a good rest. Carolyn thought they were the sweetest men alive. She had no idea that Jim was thinking she was a lifesaver for them. They never would have done this without her ideas. He just hoped one of the eggs would work. Jim decided not to think about that, instead he focused on upbeat things while he drove Carolyn to the hotel.

*

In the next two weeks, Carolyn moved over to Jim and Blair’s loft and was starting to understand why the two men made such a great couple. They cooked together, they laughed together and she could see they loved each other.

Jim and Blair were so busy with their jobs that the two weeks were flying by. But both of them knew that her appointment was the next day and they were both going. Each of them tried to act like it wasn’t a big deal, but it was. They already knew that even if she was pregnant, they couldn’t see how well the babies were doing for another three weeks after the blood and urine test. Sometimes even five weeks later. 

The day of the appointment, while driving to the doctor’s office, Carolyn said, “Guys, I don’t feel pregnant at all, so I think it didn’t take. I just don’t want you to be disappointed.”

“Carolyn, we wouldn’t be that disappointed because we were blessed with you offering to do this. You have kept Jim and me from going crazy for two weeks. Thank you.”

Carolyn leaned in and kissed Blair’s cheek. “Thank you, Blair. I must say I was really hoping for something to happen because no one would make better parents than the two of you. I love you both.”

Jim pulled up the stoplight and hugged her closely. “We love you too, Carolyn. Thank you for even offering to try this for us.”

After arriving, Jim pulled into the parking lot and all three of them looked nervous. They got out of the truck and walked into the building. 

The nurse was waiting for them and said, “Follow me.”

They did exactly that and were taken into an examination room. The nurse told Carolyn, “All the doctor will do today is draw blood and have you take a urine test. You don’t need to leave the room guys, you can stop looking nervous now. Carolyn, please follow me for the urine test.”

They were glad to be alone for a moment. Being in a woman’s clinic make them feel a little out of their league. 

Once she was done, Carolyn smiled at them and said, “Sit down and relax. We’ll see what happens and go from there.”

When Doctor Spence walked in he said hello to all three of them and drew blood from Carolyn.

“You being nervous will make her nervous and it’s not good for any of you. All of you relax. My nurse will come into the room soon with the news from the test.”

While they waited, Doctor Spence measured Carolyn again to see if she had gained any weight or inches. “Carolyn, I know this is odd, but you have gained an inch on your pelvic region. Don’t look sad, that’s good news. I bet she comes in with some good news any moment.”

“Do you think it might be because she is carrying more than one?” Jim asked. 

“We’ll find out for sure in six weeks. I swear, you two are worse than anyone I’ve ever had as a patient.”

The nurse walked in and she said, “Congratulations, Carolyn. You are pregnant.”

Jim hugged Carolyn first and then Blair did the same. 

Doctor Spence said, “Congratulations to all three of you.”

“Thank you,” Carolyn answered. 

“I’m thrilled. Thank you so much, Carolyn,” Blair gushed. 

“You are most welcome, Blair and Jim, I won’t break. Come and give me a huge hug.”

“Okay, we’ll see the three of you in six weeks from today. Here is the date of the ultrasound. It’s going to be awesome.” Doctor Spence was pretty happy too. 

Blair smiled at everyone and said, “We’ll be an ecstatic tribe. Can’t beat that.”

*

**Six weeks later:**

The Three Musketeers, as they referred to themselves, were ready and in the truck first thing in the morning. It had been six weeks since they had discovered that Carolyn was pregnant. Carolyn told them she felt like there was at least two. They were moving in separate areas of her uterus. 

“Jim, when did you get the new SUV?” Carolyn asked. 

“About two weeks after we got the new house. We knew we needed new vehicles for a car seat and it wouldn’t have worked with the truck and Blair’s old Volvo. Blair got an SUV just like this one.”

Carolyn smiled at the happy men. “Blair, do you love your new house? And have you begun decorating for the baby room yet?”

“I do love our new house. You’ve been over many times and know how wonderful it is. Lots of room for kids to grow up in.” 

Blair was sitting in the back seat of the SUV, with Carolyn up front.

Jim parked in the doctor’s lot and said, “At least today they’ll find out about the heartbeat. There is no guarantee they’ll know if there might be two or not. We’ll all just have to be patient.”

“I had my first two people ask me if I was pregnant yesterday. I didn’t know what to say, so I said I wasn’t. We haven’t covered this in the last six weeks and I do believe it’s twins because nothing fits me anymore. I’ve had to buy all new clothing to fit. When can we tell people that I’m carrying you and Blair’s baby?” Carolyn asked. 

Blair smiled and said, “I think you should tell them as soon as possible. But be sure to tell them that you’re just the surrogate and not the egg donor too.”

“Come on, you two. We’ve got a heartbeat to hear.” Jim called out over his shoulder as he opened the door for the two of them.”

“He’s such a gentleman, isn’t he?” Blair asked Carolyn. 

She smiled and held Jim’s hand and then held Blair’s. “You are both terrific men and I’m proud to carry this child for you.”

“We can never thank you enough for doing this, Carolyn,” Jim said. 

“Just remember that I get to be his or her Auntie.”

“No one is going to forget that, Carolyn. Now let’s get this show on the road,” Blair said, happily.

*

As the three of them walked out of the doctor’s office, they all looked like they had seen a ghost.

Carolyn was the first to speak. “Three babies? I’m going to be carrying three babies? Oh my God, I’m scared now. I wasn’t before but three babies is a lot of babies.”

Blair smiled at her. “Remember what the doctor said. They will be watching you from month seven on. Chances are you’ll have them in your eighth month, so we’re going to have to get things done a little sooner than we had planned on.”

“I agree, Blair.” Jim was nervous and they all knew it. 

“Carolyn, how do you feel about working part-time for now? We will give you a monthly check to help with bills in the meantime. I just think you shouldn’t have to work as hard as you would with say just one baby,” Jim wondered. 

“Stop worrying. I’m only two months along and I feel terrific. If I get tired and need to work less, I might take you up on that. But I’d like to stay as active as I could until I deliver. The more weight I keep off the better for all of us,” Carolyn pointed out. 

Blair smiled at her logic. “Good point, Carolyn. We’re going to let you call the shots on this since you know how you feel and we don’t.”

“Thank you, Blair. What are you two going to have for dinner tonight?” Carolyn asked, always hungry. 

“How about Thai food? We’ll have it delivered tonight to celebrate,” Jim said. He knew that both of them loved Thai food. 

“It works for me, babe,” Blair replied. 

“Me too, Jim,” Carolyn said. 

“I have some names to throw out at you tonight. Anyone game?” Blair asked. 

“Do we have to do it right now? Can’t we wait and see what we’re having first?” Jim inquired. 

“Jim does have a good point, Blair. Once we know what babies are in there, we can start planning. Not that I have any say in the names, but I do have an opinion.”

Blair looked disappointed, but knew that they were both right. “Works for me.”

*

**Six months along**

Carolyn was already at the doctor’s office to have the ultrasound. Jim and Blair were running late. She hoped that it wasn’t anything bad. Jim and Blair were never late for her appointments. Now she was worried. But then she heard Blair talking to the nurse in the hallway and calmed down. When the nurse opened the door, in walked Jim and Blair all smiles. 

“Sorry, Carolyn, I hope you didn’t worry. We hit a bunch of traffic. I swear this town just keeps getting bigger and bigger,” Blair said smiling like crazy. 

The nurse said, “Why don’t you guys sit on the right side of Carolyn and we’ll get this started.”

The doctor walked in and said hello to all of them. “Today is the big day. We’re going to see pictures of your babies.”

Jim was practically shaking out of his seat, he was so excited. 

“Okay, here we go,” The doctor said as he pulled her shirt up and her pants down to show her belly. Then he put the lubricant all over her belly and started running the ultrasound up and down and all around. “Do you see this baby? This is your son, this next one is a little girl and the third one is a little girl. So you have two girls and a boy.”

Jim kissed Blair, then he kissed Carolyn. Blair did the same thing. 

“I take it you’re not disappointed in the sexes?” he asked. 

“Not at all. We were dying to have a girl and a boy, but we would have taken whatever Carolyn gave to us,” Blair said. 

As the doctor cleaned Carolyn off and pulled her items up, he asked, “Do you have names chosen yet?”

Jim answered, “Not yet. We wanted to wait and see what we had first.”

“Well, now you know. Get busy and makes some plans because Carolyn is quite large already. I don’t think she’s going to carry the babies’ full term. I would say maybe the beginning of her eighth month at the latest. Do you have nurseries done up yet?”

“We just bought our home and we’re waiting to see what we’re having. I guess our little ladies will have to share a room and our son won’t,” Blair said. 

Jim looked at him oddly and said, “Blair, we have a four bedroom house. They can each have their own nursery done up.”

“But what about the spare room?” Blair asked. 

“Whoever comes to see us can stay with my dad. And Carolyn, you’re staying in the loft, right?”

“If you don’t mind. I want to stay there for at least a year while I build up credit for a house. The babies’ can come see Auntie Carolyn any time you two need a break.”

The doctor stood up and said, “See you in a month, Carolyn, then we start coming each week after that.”

“Thank you for everything. Your staff is so kind and helpful.”

“Good, that’s the way it should be.” He shook hands with Jim and Blair and left the room. 

“It’s time to go home and choose names,” Blair said, happily. 

“Can I come and listen to your choices?”

“Sure, follow us over,” Jim answered.

*

Once Jim and Blair got home, Blair got some paper pads out and put them on the table. “I have three names already chosen, but you probably won’t like them at all. So I figured we could all have a say in what we like.”

“Wait until Carolyn gets here and she can have a say too. After all, we wouldn’t be naming babies if it wasn’t for her.”

“True. She’s here now. I’ll let her in,” Blair said as he rushed to the door.

Carolyn saw the look on Blair’s face and said, “You already have names chosen?”

“Yes, I do, but Jim doesn’t know about them yet and neither do you. I want your opinions.”

“Carolyn, sit down at the table. Blair wants us to vote or something,” Jim joked about the tablets.

“I’d like to hear these three names you have chosen so far,” she said. 

They all sat at the table and stared at Blair. He finally smiled and said, “Don’t laugh, okay? I wanted each of the babies to have a part of us in their name. So this is what I came up with. Baby boy, Nicolas James, baby girl 1, Emma Blair and baby girl 2, Ruby Carolyn. What do you think?”

“Blair, I love the idea of having my name after Ruby. I like using Carolyn. And Nicolas James is so great sounding, but my favorite is Emma Blair. It’s so sweet sounding and pretty. I love all three of them. What do you think, Jim?”

“I think we have some winners, Blair. I loved them all too. And I really like that none of them are cutesy names. Great job, Chief.”

“I can’t believe how well that went. I thought you would laugh at me for using our first names as their middle names. Thank you for liking them. Now we have to get busy and get the nursery for each done. I can’t wait. In fact, let’s each do one. Carolyn, who would you like to do up a room for?”

She laughed and said, “I’m not into that. You two will have fun doing the three of them. Megan has been dying to help with things, ask her, Blair.”

“Are you sure, Carolyn?” Jim asked. 

“I’m positive. That’s why I don’t want to have any of my own. I’m just not that in to it.”

Blair kissed her cheek and asked, “Would you like to stay for dinner?”

“No, I have to get back to work. See you soon. Great names, Blair.”

“Drive careful, Carolyn,” Jim called out as she walked out the door. 

As soon as she drove off, Blair said, “Can I ask Megan if she wanted to do one of the baby rooms up?”

“Call her now, she’s dying to know about the babies anyhow.”

Blair did call her and she chose to do Ruby’s room and they were going to start that weekend. Jim was as excited about it as Blair was, he just kept his held inside a little more. 

When Blair got off the phone, he hugged Jim. “Do you really love the names, or are you just being kind?”

“I had a great aunt named Ruby and I was wild about her. I had a neighbor named Emma and was crazy about her and Nicolas is one of my favorite names for a boy. You did an excellent job, Chief.”

The two men continued to hug and be happy as they should have been.

*

**8 months 2 weeks**

Jim and Blair were at work getting caught up on some old files when Jim’s cell phone went off. He answered, “Ellison.”

“Jim, I’m at the hospital and I’m in hard labor. They tried to stop it, but these babies want out. Could you hurry?”

“We’ll be right there, Carolyn.”

“What’s wrong?” Blair asked. 

“We’re going to be daddies today. I’ll tell Simon, you tell Megan.”

When they met at the elevator, everyone was calling out, “Good luck.”

*

When they arrived at the hospital, they asked for Carolyn and they told them where to go. Jim and Blair were almost running they were so excited.

They saw the doctor and Blair said, “We made it in time, right?” 

“Yes, but I need you to get scrubbed up and ready. We’re doing a C-section. The babies are in distress. Hurry it up. Follow the nurse,” Doctor Spence said. 

They hurried as fast as they could and saw a very scared looking Carolyn lying on the bed. They had already gotten ready to put her under and Jim and Blair were going to be there to see the babies born, one at a time.

Once they were ready, they got busy and the nurse came out with a very small baby that was wailing and said, “This is baby girl 1.”

The next nurse came over and said, “This is baby boy 1.”

And they waited and waited and finally a third nurse came over and said, “This is baby girl 2.”

Doctor Spence said, “Go ahead and go with the nurses. You can see them getting cleaned up and weighed and things like that. I’ll take care of Carolyn. And congratulations, boys.” 

Ruby Carolyn weighed in at 4.1, 16 inches and beautiful blond curly hair. Emma Blair weighed in at 4.1, 17 inches and had coal black hair. And finally Nicolas James weighed in at 4.4, 18 inches and had blond curly hair. Both the men knew immediately which babies belonged to which daddy. But it didn’t matter. They were healthy and had strong lungs to boot.

Jim wrote it all down so that he wouldn’t forget anything when he called everyone. He had to call his Dad first. He had promised him as soon as they were born, he would call him. Then Simon would be next and of course, Megan would get a call from Blair. When they took the babies down to the nursery, Dr. Spence walked into the room and smiled. “Carolyn is doing beautifully. She can’t wait to get out of here. We’ve moved her to the third floor so she won’t be around babies. She said she didn’t care, but I think it would bother her. Make sure and visit her down there. She’ll be in 322. The babies were much bigger than we had thought they would be, so that’s nice. They are all healthy and will be able to go home in three days. You can take turns feeding them for the next three days. Congratulations, Jim and Blair. Carolyn told me the names you chose. Very nicely done. See you in a bit. I need to go in and see those little ones of yours.”

“Thank you for everything, Doc,” Jim called out.

*

Carolyn went home from the hospital three days after she gave birth. She was doing beautifully and couldn’t wait for her sick leave to be done so she could get back to work.

Jim and Blair got to take the three babies home on the fifth day after they were born. Jim and Blair both took family leave and were having a blast feeding, diapering and just spoiling these sweet babies. 

Carolyn would stop by every now and then to see how they were doing and hold one of them or each of them, but Jim saw she really didn’t want any babies. So actually this made him feel better about the entire situation. 

When the triplets were 8 weeks old, they got a nanny and went back to work. Things were going to work out just perfectly. 

After all, they were the ecstatic tribe. 

The end


End file.
